California State Teachers Retirement System Grows Stock Holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RYTM

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stake by 10,703.5% in the second quarter, holding 7.1 million shares worth approximately $789.4 million, or 10.37% of the company.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive: 15 analysts rate the stock a Buy, three recommend Hold, and one recommends Sell. The consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $141.12.
• Rhythm reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with an adjusted loss of $0.73 per share versus the $0.81 estimate and revenue of $71.25 million, up 46.9% year over year. However, insiders sold about 245,450 shares worth $27.4 million over the past 90 days.

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM - Free Report) by 10,703.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,109,362 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,043,556 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 10.37% of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals worth $789,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RA Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,666,837 shares of the company's stock worth $713,618,000 after purchasing an additional 985,478 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $683,601,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $351,838,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,198,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $235,340,000 after buying an additional 169,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,560,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,074,000 after buying an additional 160,950 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RYTM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $133.00 target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $154.00 target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer Lee sold 75,834 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.38, for a total transaction of $8,901,394.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 54,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,365,869.54. This represents a 58.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Alastair Garfield sold 7,763 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.57, for a total value of $912,695.91. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $269,823.15. The trade was a 77.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 245,450 shares of company stock valued at $27,374,837. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $104.71 on Monday. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $74.50 and a fifty-two week high of $122.20. The stock has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.67 and a beta of 1.97. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $108.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.18.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.81) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $71.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.66 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 85.59% and a negative return on equity of 159.87%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 46.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.75) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare genetic diseases of obesity and related metabolic disorders. The company's research is centered on the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) pathway, which plays an important role in regulating hunger and energy balance.

Rhythm's primary product is IMCIVREE (setmelanotide), an MC4R agonist. In the United States, IMCIVREE is approved for chronic weight management in adults and children at least 2 years old with obesity and certain genetically confirmed conditions affecting the MC4R pathway, including pro-opiomelanocortin, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1 and leptin receptor deficiencies, as well as Bardet-Biedl syndrome.

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